Brainstorm Tutoring

Updated on September 9, 2013

Get The Gears Rolling

Source

Why Brainstorm?

Brainstorming is a great way to generate ideas for new products, services, or even just for internal business problem solving. Many people are unfamiliar with standard methods of brainstorming. Although there are no official rules, these guidelines can help keep the flow going. It also can be a fun way for a team to interact with each other.

Following The Rules

It may seem strange to think that brainstorming has rules but it really does and it's important to follow them to keep the flow of ideas moving forward. I'll get into the rules further on.

Brainstorming Resources On Amazon

Team Thinking and solving

How To Brainstorm | Source

Isn't Brainstorming Just An Exchange Of Ideas?

Many may believe that brainstorming is just everyone in a team shouting ideas. But it is more formal than that and it should be. If you didn't have rules for the exchange chaos would ensue and nothing would ever get done.

We'd Like To Know

Does your company use brainstorming for problem solving?

Overview Of The Rules

The rules of brainstorming are really those defined by the group. But generally speaking, it's always a good idea for someone to write down all of the responses. Most brainstorming sessions are done in three stages, the first one being the total idea generation, the second one is to critique those ideas, and the third is to decide which choices to choose.

Brainstorm Meeting

Source

Stage 1 - Idea Generation

It's really up to the team that is participating but a great rule in brainstorming is to make sure that no criticism of any idea happens in this stage. This is crucial as if people's ideas are cut off in this stage, they will be less likely to continue generating ideas. Have it open and let the ideas flow. If it comes out of someone's mouth, it gets written out.

It's important for the session's moderator to enforce this rule. If someone blurts out a criticism, the moderator should gently remind that person that this is not the stage for that.

Role Of The Moderator

The moderator, often the group leader, is responsible for ensuring that the rules of the group are enforced. But he should also try and keep the meeting flow going. If there is a lull in the idea generation, then he should start coming up with a few to let others ideas' continue. Sometimes, if he shouts out ideas that are humor based, this can open the session for others to do the same. It's important to have some fun during a brainstorming session!

Stage 3 - Determination

This stage really depends on the number of decisions that the group needs to make. If for example, you are coming up with a name for your company baseball team, you can only have one choice. Another example is if you were judging an art competition. Again there is only one winner.

This stage is very similar to stage 2 except it usually is necessary to be much more critical and truly determine what is the best choice from among the group. If at the end it cannot be determined then the tie usually goes to the moderator.

Stage 2 - Critical Stage

Stage 2 begins when all of the ideas have been exhausted and the moderator can no longer spur the group on by throwing some extra ideas. In stage 2, the moderator will read each item and then ask the group if it should stay or go. The rule here is typically majority rules and any ambiguity gives the moderator the choice. He needs to gauge how the group feels about the item. Sometimes it warrants further discussion. But if the decision is to scratch, it gets crossed off the list. At the end of this stage the group usually has from 3 to 10 ideas.

Video About Brainstorming

Variations

During stage 2, sometimes groups will categorize related items into groups to make it easier to evaluate the items but this isn't always necessary. It's important to remember that the group makes the rules and chooses who is to moderate. It's not always a high ranking manager. In fact, it's often better not to have someone like that moderate as it can lead to the group not giving their true opinions out of fear of retaliation. Further, if the manager is moderating, she may make premature decisions at the wrong stage of any of the processes.

brainstorming techniquesWhen you have a problem to solve but you just can't find a way to tackle it, you may find that brainstorming can help you find the solution. Brainstorming can help you find an innovative solution to a difficult problem. Brainstorming techniques are e

Brainstorming Doesn't Need to ChaoticEverybody has a time in their lives when they need to get with others and try to come up with ideas and solutions. And each of those times invariably involves chaos and frustration. It seems that the brainstorming sessions becomes an arena for opinio

Summary Of The Stages

Stage 1

Ideas Only

No Criticism

Stage 2

Critical Stage

Analyze each item and cross off

Stage 3

Decisions

Make decision on remaing items.

More by this Author

Many people hear the word foreclosure and believe that it means that the bank is going to take the home away from the foreclosed mortgager. But in fact, there are three stages of foreclosure. We will explore those...

The financial crisis has made it much more difficult to make money in the stock market. The risks have increased dramatically. But this article will show you how options can lower your risk. But you have heard from a...